Sportsmen's Connection March 2018

It's late-March, and we've now been subjected to almost 6 monthsof the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) aka Arizonans forWildlife's (AfW) internet blather on "wild cats" and signaturegathering.

Here's what we know: HSUS has registered some of their own people as paid signaturegatherers. They have also brought in the Mountain Lion Foundation(MLF) from California as paid signature gatherers.

With 3 months remaining in the signature gathering period, thatmakes it a monumental task to gather required valid signatures with volunteers and a small pool of paid petitioners.

HSUS has lost their outspoken anti-hunting CEO and with it, donors.The Better Business Bureau has also downgraded theirrat ing. https://www.humanewatch.org/bbb-removes-accreditation-humane-society-united-states/

That all said, they, HSUS, AfW, or whatever you want to call them,haven't gone away. They have concentrated their volunteer andpaid MLF efforts in Tucson, and to selected areas in Phoenix. Theyare on the streets and at fairs every weekend. They were hangingout at the Phoenix Zoo for quite a while as well.

Kudos to the folks that are on the street educating the public onDecline to Sign! This grass roots group has been successful inmaking some people realize it is a mistake to sign. They've come

armed with knowledge, something the HSUS volunteers don't have,

and in some cases resulting in the HSUS people closing up shop.

We can't overstate enough how important this type of effort is.Educating the public on the necessity of science-based wildlifemanagement is a monumental task, and these types of effortscertainly help!

As we previously reported, the education factor was the impetus forthe formation of Conserve and Protect Arizona. They are working onshort and long term goals to shut down this constant attack on ourconservation heritage once and for all. Visit their website for moreinformation. https://conserveandprotectaz.org

Arizona Veterinarians have come out with a letter opposing theinitiative. Click here to see it, and take it to your Vet if you haveone!

The former AZ Game & Fish Department Directors have put out asimilar letter to retired Game & Fish employees, click here to seethat one.

And in other news...

The Army Corps of Engineers is draining Alamo Lake for repair work.We opposed that, as did the Commission and Department, and onbehalf of the Commission, the State filed suit against the Corps andlost on Friday the 9th. You might want to let your CongressionalRepresentative and Senators know how you feel about that.

Jim UnmachtExecutive Director

Local Contacts Create Regional Impact LindaMcAteer, Zane Grey Chapter Diversity Chair,

Arizona

As the work to launch theSTREAM Girls program in

Arizona gained momentum,my focus turned to findingthe funds to get it off theground. During our annualplanning meeting, one ofour board membersmentioned he had heardthat the Allstate InsuranceCompany has some sort ofgrant program. I haveAllstate insurance, so Icalled my agent. The resultwas more than I expected. Allstate agents have two fundingprograms to draw from. One is a large grant, but the agent, or oneof her employees, must be an active participant in that charity toqualify. The other program is at the agent's discretion and, althoughit's a smaller grant, it's the agent's prerogative to grant those funds.Luckily, I've been with the Sheri Shull Agency for over 10 years, andmy agent is a former Girl Scout leader herself, so when I called hershe agreed immediately to cover the printing costs for our Train theTrainer event, and our first Girl Scout Camp event.

With that covered, I was still looking for the funding to cover all thestreamside materials needed for the program. That's when I got anemail from John Doss, our chapter's communications person and amember of the Arizona Fly Casters. John had arranged a fund raiserfor STREAM Girls during the December AFC monthly meeting.Together with Cinda Howard of Fly Fish Arizona guide service, Johnput together special raffles for guided trips, a gear raffle, and aChristmas gift raffle. That evening the AFC raised $400 for theSTREAM Girls program. We now have enough funding to cover ourfirst two events, and to begin discussions with other Girl Scout andTU chapters to bring STREAM Girls not only to Arizona, but toColorado and New Mexico, too. For more information on the STREAMGirl program, visit tu.org/streamgirls

Just a few tickets left!

Member Group Activities

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American Precision Target Systems

By purchasing this plate you will be making a contribution to Arizona's wildlife and wildlife habitat.Seventeen dollars ($17) of each twenty-five ($25) special license fee will go to AZSFWC's conservationfund. AZSFWC will review and approve all grants from the special license plate program revenues.These grants will fund important outdoor recreational and educational opportunities and on-the-groundwildlife habitat restoration and enhancement projects.

These plates can be purchased online and can also be personalized. To order an AZSFWCConservation License Plate go to: http://www.servicearizona.com Click on "Personalized/SpecialtyPlates" then if you wish to personalize it, check its availability. Once you have verified the availability ofyour personalization, or if you only want to order the AZSFWC Conservation Special Plate, click on"Order My Plate". Order your plate as a sequential shelf plate for $25.00 per year or as a personalizedplate for $50.00 per year.

Here is another helpful link when ordering your special license plate. You can have many of yourquestions answered here:https://servicearizona.com/webapp/vehicle/plates/showInfoPage.do

The AZSFWC Conservation Plate gives all Arizonan's an opportunity to contribute to programs thatbenefit our wild creatures. Step up and support "Wild Arizona".

Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation is a 501-c-3 not-for-profit organization whose mission is to educate and informsportsmen, wildlife conservation organizations throughout the state and the public at large on important issues related towildlife and wildlife habitat and to provide, via grants or other sources, funding to conserve Arizona's wildlife populationsthrough habitat enhancement initiatives. The AZSFWC is responsible for managing the conservation license plateprogram (Wildlife Conservation Habitat Fund). The fund is derived from the sale of wildlife conservation license platesand member organizations as well as non-member organizations are eligible to apply for those funds.